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PHOTOGRAPHED IN MAY 2019 NOT LONG BEFORE IT WAS REPAIRED AND RESTORED

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DALY’S BRIDGE BUT LOCALLY IT IS THE SHAKEY BRIDGE

The formal opening of Daly’s Bridge took place on Saturday 9 May 1927.

As I did not know that it was officially named Daly’s bridge I was unable to locate this bridge and then I entered a laneway hoping for a short-cut and there was a pedestrian bridge that was in very poor condition.

This unusual and dramatically sited bridge is an important pedestrian crossing over the River Lee and replaced an earlier ferry crossing. Named Daly Bridge, it is better know locally as the Shaky Bridge due to the movement of its carriageway. Designed by Cork City Engineer S.W. Farrington with steelwork by the London-based David Rowell & Company of Westminster, it is the only suspension bridge in Cork city. Spanning 160 feet, it represents a significant technical and engineering feat.

THE SHAKY OR THE SHAKEY BRIDGE

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PHOTOGRAPHED MAY 2022 REPROCESSED IN OCTOBER 2023

Daly’s Bridge is a pedestrian bridge spanning the River Lee in Cork, Ireland. Known locally as the Shakey Bridge, it joins Sunday’s Well on the north side to Fitzgerald’s Park in the Mardyke area on the south.

In some of the images you should see pink Cast-iron railings. They were erected c.1900 and are described as cast-iron fluted bollards with domed floral caps and connecting tubular railings. There are also roughly dressed limestone blocks to quay walkway edge with steps to western end leading to river. The subtly detailed railings are a fine example of nineteenth century metal work, and contribute positively to the streetscape. The railings and steps at their western end mark the landing place of the ferry which preceded Daly’s Bridge as a means of crossing the river at this point.

Completed in 1926 and opened in 1927, it is the only suspension bridge in Cork City. It was constructed by the London-based David Rowell & Company to the design of Stephen W. Farrington, the Cork City Engineer. Constructed primarily of wrought iron, the bridge spans 160 feet (49 m), and the timber-planked walkway is 4+1⁄2 feet (1.4 m) wide.

The bridge takes its official name from Cork businessman James Daly, who contributed to the cost of the bridge. Its colloquial name (the “Shakey Bridge” or “Shaky Bridge”) derives from the movement of the platform when running or jumping on the bridge.

In August 2019, work began on restoration of the bridge. It was dismantled into four sections and removed so that repair of the bridge structure could be carried out. In July 2020, it was reported that while the structure of the bridge had been reinstalled, “several weeks of work” were required before it would reopen. It was reopened to the public in December 2020. I got my first opportunity to photograph the restored bridge in August 2021

The bridge is listed on Cork City Council’s Record of Protected Structures.

I visited Cork City in May 2022 and the city had not yet fully recovered from Covid-19 travel restrictions so I had the opportunity to visit many locations where I was the only person and tis gave me the freedom to photograph without people appearing in my photographs. I still have about 4000 photographs that have yet to be published so I decided to reprocess them using more recent tools upload them when I am happy with the results.

GEOWAVE VOYAGER LATER RENAMED EAGLE EXPLORER IMO 9381299

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AT CUSTOM HOUSE QUAY IN CORK JULY 2016

I photographed this in July 2016 but in November 2018 Oslo-listed seismic acquisition specialist SeaBird took took delivery of the Geowave Voyager seismic vessel, fully rigged with 40 kilometers streamer and dual source. SeaBird had agreed to buy the vessel and equipment from $17 million from CGG.

Geowave Voyager is a 2009-built seismic survey vessel. It has a length of 90 m, a beam of 24 m and a dwt of 2,879 tonnes. It has capacity to tow up to 10 streamers and can undertake 2D, source and niche 3D, and node-laying work.

OLD PHOTOGRAPHS OF CUSTOM HOUSE QUAY IN CORK

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AS IT WAS IN MAY 2011

The Custom House is located at the eastern extremity of Cork City’s centre island, where the north and south branches of the River Lee reconverge.

As you can see this area could be derelict back in 2011 and unfortunately there was no sign of any improvement when I visited in May 2023.

In March 2021 it was reported that planning permission had been granted for €150 million development incorporating Ireland’s tallest building. The 34-storey tower on the site of the former Port of Cork building on Custom House Quay will include a five star 240 bedroom hotel as well as food and beverage outlets along with a distillery in the accompanying commercial development. The planning decision followed an appeal by three parties of a decision by Cork City Council to grant planning for the project on October 13th 2020.

The Custom House is an early 19th-century building in Cork, Ireland.[7][8] Originally developed as a custom house and opened in 1818, the Cork Harbour Commissioners (later reorganised as the Port of Cork Company) took over the building in 1904. The Port of Cork Company vacated the building in early 2021.[10] The Custom House is, together with a number of other buildings on the same site, listed by Cork City Council on its Record of Protected Structures.

The Custom House is attributed to designs by Abraham Addison Hargrave, the eldest son (and partner in the architectural practice) of Abraham Hargrave the Elder.[12] Built between 1814 and 1818, the building was used initially by the Inland Revenue, having replaced an old custom house on Emmet Place, now part of the Crawford Art Gallery. It was built on “slob” land, which was reclaimed at a cost of £10,000; the building itself cost £70,000. In 1904, it became the headquarters of the Cork Harbour Commissioners, who took over the building on a 999 year lease.

The building was extended in 1906, with additions including a new boardroom, designed by William Price the then Harbour Engineer. This boardroom, with semicircular tables and upholstered chairs, was described in the Irish Examiner as “one of the finest examples of the commercial interior design of the time”. Originally the royal arms were on the building’s pediment, being replaced by the city arms in 1957.

As of 2021, the Harbour Commissioners had vacated the building, and a number of developments were proposed for the site. Aspects of the proposed developments, including the proposal to “largely demolish the Revenue Building” (a protected structure on the Custom House Quay site), have been the subject of some opposition, including by the Irish Georgian Society and An Taisce Corcaigh.

These photographs are old as they date from my 2011 visit to Cork City. I used a Sony NEX-5 which was my very first Mirrorless camera and it was the beginning of my switch over from Canon to Sony. The lens that I used was the 18-200mm supplied with the VG10E camcorder and it was much better than the kit lens supplied with the NEX-5. As a matter of interest I still have the NEX-5 and the VG10 which I still use.

The software available was primitive so I decided to se if the original files could be reprocessed and published online.

THE MARDYKE BRIDGE IN CORK

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THE LEE WALK IN MAY 2023

I have explored the Lee Walk in Cork a number of times but I did not know that this was known as the Mardyke Bridge.

The North Mall to Mardyke section of the Lee Walk was dedicated by the Lord Mayor, Cllr. Deirdre Clune, on 1st February 2006. The bridge is a single span construction made of steel, stretching some 57 metres in length and having a 3 metre-wide footpath cantilevered from the bottom chord of the arch. Integral to the design is a circular viewing platform built into cantilever retaining walls, adjoining the north bank seat.

The bank seats are of reinforced concrete and have architecturally shaped parapets resting on precast concrete piles, driven 10-15 metres into the ground. The bridge is stiffened by the steel deck top plate which helps control its deflections and dampen its dynamics. The plate prevents the arch member from deflecting too much out of plane. Mardyke bridge was manufactured off site with the finishing touches and assembly done on site, upon which it was lifted into position in a single operation.

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